Searching for new features of intravitality of hanging based on macro- and microscopic evaluation of the proximal attachment of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and the mastoid process of the temporal bone.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Assessment of the usefulness of intravital lesions in the proximal attachment of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and the mastoid process of the temporal bone in medico-legal evaluation of death by hanging. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study material was obtained from the bodies of 35 people who died by hanging. The control group comprised specimens collected from 30 people who died of non-traumatic causes. The structures under study were examined macro- and microscopically. The basic change which could be recognized as a marker of intravitality of hanging was the presence of a macroscopically extensive blotchy area of abundant ecchymosis in the proximal muscle attachment, similar to that found in the distal attachment, and the presence of abundant diffuse intraosseous ecchymoses in the mastoid process. RESULTS: None of the cases revealed any ecchymoses in the proximal attachment of the muscle that would be similar to those present in the distal attachment. Discolourations within the mastoid processes, macroscopically suggestive of extensive intraosseous effusions arising from the mechanism of stretching, were not confirmed by microscopic evaluation and occurred at the same frequency as in the control group. Limitations of the study were related to the method which involved sample collection by means of bone chisels, decalcification and preparation of specimens, which had an effect, for example, on the measurable evaluation of the degree of congestion. CONCLUSIONS: The study has failed to provide convincing and unambiguous data on the usefulness of examining mastoid processes and proximal attachments of the sternocleidomastoid muscles during autopsy to determine the presence of intravitality features of hanging. A description of research methodology and its associated difficulties, e.g. with the interpretation of results, can also be useful for the planning of similar studies by other researchers.

Changes in complete blood count in patients with surgically treated facial fractures.

The purpose of this prospective study was to verify the changes in the preoperative and postoperative complete blood counts of patients with surgically treated facial fractures. Fifty consecutive patients with a mean age of 34 years who presented facial fractures and underwent surgical treatment were included. A complete blood count was performed, comprising the red and white blood cell count (cells/µL), hemoglobin (g/dL), and hematocrit (%) levels. These data were obtained preoperatively and postoperatively during a 6-week period. Statistical analyses were performed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests to identify the possible differences among the groups and among the periods of observation using the Friedman and Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks tests. The most common location of the fractures was the mandible (42.3%), followed by the zygomatic-orbital (36.5%) and associated locations (21.2%). Leukocytosis was associated with neutrophilia in the immediate postoperative period in all of the groups. There were no values below the reference limits of the values of hemoglobin, hematocrit, and erythrocytes, and no values above the reference limits for the remaining white blood cells, although significant differences among periods were observed in most cells, depending on the type of fracture. The primary findings were leukocytosis associated with neutrophilia, verified in the immediate postoperative period in all of the groups, and the influence of the type of fracture on the significant alterations observed among studied periods on the values of hemoglobin, hematocrit, erythrocytes, leukocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes.

Maternal predictors of fetal demise in trauma during pregnancy.

Trauma complicates 6 to 7 per cent of all pregnancies, but fetal demise secondary to maternal trauma occurs much less frequently. This study was done to analyze the incidence of fetal demise as a function of 21 maternal characteristics determined within the first 24 hours after trauma. Nine instances of fetal demise were identified from 73 pregnant patients with trauma admitted to four Level I trauma centers from a combined data base of 30,000 patients. Maternal factors examined by logistic regression were Injury Severity Score (ISS), Trauma Score (TS), Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), fluid requirements in the initial 24 hours, systolic blood pressure (SBP), heart rate (HR), hemoglobin, hematocrit and arterial blood gas analysis. Fetal demise was found to be associated with increasing ISS, increasing face and abdominal AIS, increasing fluid requirements, maternal acidosis and maternal hypoxia. Standard maternal laboratory and physiologic parameters, such as hemoglobin and hematocrit, oxygen and hemoglobin saturation, partial pressure of carbon dioxide, SBP and HR were not predictive. The TS was also found to be nonpredictive.